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Peaceful protest held in support of Kelvin Maxson

SWATARA TOWNSHIP, Pa. -Kelvin Maxson, the man known for leading weekly protests against the treatment of prisoners outside of the Dauphin County Prison, was arr...
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SWATARA TOWNSHIP, Pa. -Kelvin Maxson, the man known for leading weekly protests against the treatment of prisoners outside of the Dauphin County Prison, was arrested early Sunday morning.

His sister tells FOX43 more than 10 parole officers showed up to his Harrisburg home just before 5 a.m. Maxson is currently at the Camp Hill Prison.

Maxson founded the group "Voices for the Voiceless" after the death of inmate Ty'rique Riley at the Dauphin County Prison back in July. Riley gained national attention after questions surfaced regarding the circumstances of his death.

In response to Maxson's arrest, a peaceful protest was held Sunday. It was organized by Maxson's sister and "Voices for the Voiceless." According to prison officials, Maxson was on parole from a drug conviction back in 2015 and was arrested Sunday for violating that parole, and for making physical threats against a member of law enforcement on social media.

But his supporters believe this is retaliation, and a last attempt to silence his opinions about the death of Ty'rique Riley.

"He can't speak right now, so I'm his voice and I'm going to speak for him and all these people," Tierra Maxson, his sister, said. "Only thing they want to do is silence him for the light that he shed on Ty'rique Riley's death, and we just want answers form that. We've been peaceful the whole while, we continue to be peaceful. It doesn't change the group. We're still going to move forward, it's not going to stop, it's not going to be silenced. We want answers, we demand answers, it's only right to have answers."

The Camp Hill Prison did send FOX43 a statement, saying in part, "We support the right to protest and, of course, Freedom of Speech. However, we have a responsibility to act, when speech crosses over into supporting threats of violence. We are aware of his public activism in the last month regarding the Dauphin County Prison case... but it wasn't until he made those threats on social media, crossing the line, forcing officials to act accordingly. Out of an abundance of caution, and consistent with parole rules and policy, he was taken into custody."

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